The Dude Abides

I've waited an abnormally long time to watch The Big Lebowski. I saw my first Coen Brothers movies in 2007 when I had to watch O Brother Where Art Thou for an english class, and then again when No Country for Old Men came out and convinced me that Javier Bardem was the thing that nightmares are made of. I've seen - and enjoyed - a lot of their films, both the critically acclaimed (Fargo, True Grit) and the not so critically acclaimed (Burn After Reading). Recently, it's started to feel like Lebowski was intentionally avoiding me; my parents decided to rent it on Netflix when I was at school and the library hasn't had it every time that I've gone in to check. So I was thrilled when my roommate spontaneously sat me down earlier tonight and insisted that he rent it on his Xbox for us all to enjoy. The next two hours were perfect.

I had heard most of the famous quotes from the movie, but I really had no idea what I was in for. The plot itself is almost too complex to describe, especially after just one viewing. For those that haven't seen it, however, Jeff Bridges plays "the Dude," an unemployed stoner who loves bowling and just happens to get caught up in a kidnapping conspiracy. Knowing the Coen Brothers, I was expecting the film to be a fairly dark dramady, so I was surprised when I found myself laughing throughout the entire film. Lebowski is, through and through, a comedy.

I've always been fascinated by writing - it's something I'm hoping to make a career in - so Lebowski was really a treat for me. Lately, I've been working on ways to make dialogue seem really authentic, and this film was a breath of fresh air for me. The character of the Dude is just so incredibly natural and believable that while watching it, I was consistently torn between taking mental notes of things and just letting his Dudeness wash over me and take control. This is in part due to Bridges' Oscar nominated performance, but you have to give Joel and Ethan Coen so much credit for writing an incredibly believable sounding (while over-the-top in every way) screenplay.

On the other side of things, I was totally blown away with the cinematography and was both surprised and not at all surprised when I found out that it was the work of master DP Roger Deakins. Deakins has worked with the Coen Bros on numerous occasions (including Fargo and No Country For Old Men) and his style really shone through in Lebowski. Deakins used cuts sparingly, and this immediately reminded me of the video we watched in class the other day about how filmmakers are starting to believe that cuts are always necessary all the time. Deakins seems to abide by the old-school method of longer, lingering shots; these, along with some really cool POV shots (inside a bowling ball? Come on. That's awesome.) made for a film that was always visually interesting.

With an incredible supporting cast lead by John Goodman as the Dude's Vietnam war-ravaged, psychotic pal Walter ("shut the fuck up, Donny") The Big Lebowski holds up perfectly well, even on the 15th anniversary of its release. I loved everything about it; from the trippy bowling/porno sequence to the three nazi-nihilists to the rug, which really tied the room together. It was a great piece of comedy filmed with the utmost precision, something you rarely see. I'm excited to rewatch it and pick up a little more of the dense plot, but until then, I'm just going to sit back, chill, and let the dude abide.